


Taming Purgatory

by nerdydemonlover



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Engineer Dean, Fluff, Landscape Architect Cas, M/M, Mutual Pining, NASA
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-20 17:50:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4796660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdydemonlover/pseuds/nerdydemonlover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>New resident to California Dean Winchester hires a friend of his sister in law to tackle the monstrosity of his back yard. He wasn't prepared for Castiel Novak.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taming Purgatory

Dean breathed in the fresh California air as he stood on the small deck sipping his beer. Burgers sizzled on the nearby grill. It had been months since his move to Sunnyvale, and it was finally settling down. When the transfer to Moffett Field had opened up, he had jumped at the chance to be closer to Sammy and Jess, and their spitfire of a daughter Gracie. Truthfully, Marshall had lost its appeal after their father had passed 2 years before and the weekends of driving back and forth to deal with the sale of the house and the various legalities drained him. The smell of the meat on the barbeque and a hand clasping on his shoulder brought him back to the moment. “Earth to Dean!” 

“That’s getting pretty old, Sammy!”

Sam laughed as he took a drink from his own bottle, “Well, that’s what happens when you work for freaking NASA, jerk.”

“I just work on engines bitch, it’s not like I’m going into space.”

A blonde sidled up to Sam, “Is Dean beating himself up again?”

“Hey Jess, that’s what happens when the prettiest girl at Stanford choses my Sasquatch of a brother over me.” Dean winked at Jess, but she stood on her toes to plant a kiss on Sam. 

“Damn straight, Dean.”

“Why do you do this, Dean?” Sammy pleaded. “You went to MIT, NASA hired you right out of grad school, you’re just as smart as I am.”

“Sam, don’t. No chick flick moments.” Dean held his hand up in front of his brother to stop him from talking, he didn’t want to go down this road again, not tonight at least. “I thought you guys were coming over to enjoy the first cookout at my new house?”

“Dean?”

“What, Sam?” Dean took another pull his bottle, giving an irritated look at Sam.

“What’s the deal with your backyard?” Sam turned to face the mountainous incline that led away from the house. 

“Yeah well. Not a lot of choices in my price range. At least this was a nice place instead of a crackhouse. Not all of us can be big shot lawyers.” His next sentence was interrupted by a 5 year old running through and grabbing his legs. 

“Uncle Dean!”

He lifted his niece up and hugged her, “Monkey girl! Where have you been? I thought I was going to have to wait all night to see you!”

“Baba Charlie brought me!” 

“Baba Charlie?” Dean smirked at the redhead as she entered. 

“She had a problem with babysitter when she was smaller, it kinda stuck.” 

“Glad you could bring her, Charlie. Gilda working?” Jess took the child from her uncle to give her a hug of her own. 

“She’ll be getting off in an hour or so, said she might swing by if the traffic’s not too bad.”

“Does this mean I’ll finally get to meet the elusive woman, herself?” Dean teased his new friend. It was strange how easily he seemed to have integrated himself in the area. 5 years in Huntsville, and he had still felt like an outsider at Marshall. In the 4 months in Sunnyvale, he had Charlie, Benny a fellow engineer at Moffitt, and the Trans, and kid named Kevin and the fierce mother who lived next door. He had talked to Mrs. Tran during the first walk through of the house and she had almost given the poor real estate agent a heart attack. Of course, since she had been there Dean had gotten $10,000 knocked off the price after she berated the poor agent for selling the house ‘in its condition’ and pointing out issues as if she was a housing inspector. Dean hadn’t minded, he knew he would have to buy a fixer upper to be able to afford living here, and he was able to do much of the work himself. The only thing that was alluding him was the back yard. 

“Maybe, if you’re lucky and I can beat your ass at Mario Cart later.” Charlie grinned as she took a drink for herself.

“Hey, I know someone that can help!” Jess interjected as she re-emerged from the sliding glass door of the kitchen with a large salad.

“No thanks, Jess, I don’t need any help at Mario. Thanks for the vote of confidence. What’s with all the rabbit food?”

Jess set the bowl in the center of the table, hands now on her hips, “The rabbit food as you call it is for the rest of us, not all of us are heathens like you. Some of us want to live through to the next decade. But that’s not what I meant. I mean I know someone who can help you with the yard, silly.”

“I’m all ears, darling” Dean smiled at his sister in law as he removed the burgers from the grill and deposited them on the table. “Dig in everyone.”

Jess talked as she made a plate for herself and Gracie, “My friend, Cas. He’s a landscape architect. He’d be able to do something amazing with this.”

Dean huffed, “What, like a really expensive gardener?”

Sam glared his brother down, “Dean! You need help back here, and no, that’s not code for ‘really expensive gardener’. Although with that attitude, I might not ask for a friend of the family discount.”

“Whatever, bitch.”

“Jerk.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean slammed his hand down on the steering wheel of the Impala. He was supposed to meet Jess’s friend Castiel 15 minutes ago at his house, but traffic had been ridiculous coming home. No amount of living in California was going to ever have him used to that. At least he had manage to shoot off a text at an eternal red light to let the man know what was going on.  
“Way to make a professional impression, Dean.” He swore under his breath as he maneuvered the shiny black beast into the driveway. A pickup with a sign of ‘Novak and Sons’ sat in front of the sidewalk. He could see the top of a man’s head inside, but all he could make out was black hair. He waited a moment, unsure if he should tap on the window to alert the man of his arrival, when the door opened and a neatly dressed foot stepped out. The man was not at all what Dean had imagined for someone he was hiring for work on his backyard. Shiny shoes and dress pants, topped by a crisp, white button up shirt. Hell, the guy was wearing a tie and a trench coat as he finished something on his phone and placed it in his pocket, before turning his full attention to Dean. “Mr. Winchester, I presume?”

“Dean.” He sputtered. The man’s eyes were bluer than anything he had seen before. No, scratch that, he had driven across country to see Sam once right before he started working for NASA and ate lunch one day on the patio of a restaurant in Nevada somewhere, the sky overhead had captivated him. He had known then that the decision to take the job offer had been the right one. The man’s eyes were like the blue he had seen in the sky there. 

“Dean, then. I’m Castiel Novak. Jess told me all about you,” he held out his hand to shake Dean’s and Dean could feel the strength hidden in his grip. His mouth felt drier all of a sudden. 

“All good I hope, Cas. Would you like some water or something? Sorry that I kept you waiting so long. Traffic, man.”

Castiel smiled at Dean crookedly as he let his hand go, “Water would be great. Don’t worry about your lateness, Dean. I had business that I could take care of.”

As Dean unlocked the front door, ushering them inside, he noted the trench coat again, shaking his head, “I gotta say, you’re not really what I expected.” Dean moved towards the kitchen as Cas followed behind. 

“What were you expecting, Dean? An overpriced gardener?” A smirk tugged at Castiel’s lips as he took a glass from the other man. His startling gaze holding as he swallowed a long drink, a small drop escaping, sliding from his mouth down his neck and along his adam’s apple.

Dean found it difficult to answer the pointed question. A bit of embarrassment mixed with want was he watched the droplet move. He focused his attention back at the man’s face. Dean refused to respond to the bait. “Um, well, the way you’re dressed, for one. You almost look like an accountant rather than someone who…works outside.”

“Yes, Dean, you’re not my only prospective client at the moment. I was giving a proposal to the parks department earlier. They tend to frown on dirty jeans and tee shirts.” Cas was coddling him now. Dean couldn’t help but picture the tight jeans and tee on him though. Too bad the misshaped overcoat blocked so much of him. “Now, what did you have in mind, Dean?”

He couldn’t help a slightly lascivious smirk as he motioned Cas to follow him to the backyard. 

 

The back yard had changed their interaction. Gone was the slightly flirty play between them, here Cas was in his element. He took measurements, asked Dean what he wanted from the space, walked the area and even nimbly climbed up the rocky side to ‘visualize’. He made notes and more notes before running, half jumping, down the hill. Dean suppressed the urge to catch him at the bottom, the man was like one of those mountain goats though and clearly had not needed assistance. How he had managed to keep all his clothes perfectly clean, he was at a loss to explain.  
“Well, Dean, there are a couple of options we could do. Let me draw up some preliminary plans and give you estimates, shouldn’t take more than a few days. I’ll give you a few things to choose from, with varying prices, of course.”

“Of course.” Dean replied, not knowing what else to say, stuffing his hands in his pockets. 

“Was there something else?”

Surprise slashed across his face, “No, no. just overwhelmed. I just had an apartment in Huntsville. So, first yard of my own and all. I feel like I should be this adult, but I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Castiel leaned forward conspiratorially, “Want to know a secret?”

The breath was sucked out of Dean’s lungs, “Uh-huh.”

“Nobody does.” Castiel’s eyelashes hid his eyes as he moved his face away from Dean’s, but Dean thought he saw the slightest tinge of pink on the other man. “Well, I have to be going.” Cas looked nervously at the screen of his phone and tucked it away again as he hurried back towards the front of the house. 

“Oh, okay. Call or email when you get the estimates figured out.” Dean leaned against the open door frame of his house watching him leave. He closed the door but could still see his faint image through the sheer curtains in the picture window. He stared as first the trench coat as taken off, folded carefully and placed into the truck. Then gaped openly as Cas loosened his tie and rolled his sleeves. There was ink on his arms, although Dean could not make it out. But as Cas stood with his back to him, one foot perched on the step of the truck and his arms splayed across the opening, he couldn’t help pushing the curtain aside slightly and following the lines of the clothes all the way down his form. In one motion, he lifted himself inside the cab of the vehicle, turning his head to the house for a moment and catching Dean watching him. Dean swore he saw a wink and a bit of a cocky smile as he dropped the curtain as if it was on fire. “Jesus, I’m a fucking creeper.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He stood in line at the coffee shop with Benny trying to wake the sleep out of his brain. “Did I tell you I had a guy come out and look at the back to see what he could do?” 

“What? That monstrosity you call a yard, brother?” Benny stepped forward to order.

“Hey, that monstrosity is one of the reasons I don’t have to drive from freaking Palo Alto every day. I love that monstrosity.”

“That thing looks like purgatory, and you know it.” Benny slipped a tip into the cup as he waited for his drink. “You know what you want to do with it?”

Dean shook his head as he fiddled with his wallet, “A large quad Americano, please. Nah, the dude is going to get back to me with some options. We’ll see.”

The sandy haired barrister smirked at Dean, “Really, a quad? Don’t you want to sleep, Dean?”

“Don’t you give me crap, too, Gabe. Bad enough I hear it from Sammy.”

“Fine, hands off it is.” Gabe prepped his drink. “So, who’s the lady?”

“What are you talking about?” Dean growled at him. 

Gabe shrugged, “The only time you order quads is when you’re coming in here with your ‘I just got laid’ look.”

Benny howled in laughter. “He’s right. Less than six months and he’s already got you pegged. Spill, brother.”

Dean scowled and grabbed his drink, “You have it all wrong, there’s no girl. And you, Gabriel,” he pointed a finger towards the barrister, “no tip.”

“That’s what she”—the remainder of Gabe’s sentence was cut off with a fire catching glare from Dean. 

Benny still snickering, “No lady friend, then?”

“I’m finding a new place to get coffee.” Dean barged through the front door to escape the two men, nearly colliding with another as he exited, too much in a rush to leave to do more than throw a grumbled,  
“Sorry,” as he made his way outside to wait for Benny. He couldn’t help but notice the same truck that had been parked in front of his house two days before sitting empty across the street. Of course, as close as they were to Moffitt, the owner of the truck could be anywhere in one of the buildings. Dean scowled at his cup. 

“What are you mad at the coffee for, brother?” Benny took a sip of his own, “Not as good as we’d make at Lito’s, but y’all don’t seem to know what chicory is.” 

“Whatever, I ain’t putting bark in my coffee. C’mon we’re going to be late. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gabe looked up to greet his customer, only to see his brother’s serious face. “Baby bro!” he shouted at the taller, dark haired man. 

“Please, Gabe. You know I need at least a half a liter of caffeine before I can handle that noise.” Castiel thudded into a soft chair that sat around the fake fire Gabe had installed one winter in an effort to make the room feel ‘homey’. He was still unable to admit that maybe his brother had been right about that, the few squishy chairs and the worn paperbacks on the side table kept customers inside for much longer than they had anticipated. 

“What’ll it be then, Cassie. Double and a muffin, as usual?” Gabriel wiped out a mug and sat it under the head of the espresso machine.

“Urgh, make it at least a triple. I’m going to need it after today.” Castiel leaned back in the chair as he spread his legs out in front of him, covering his face with his hands. 

Gabriel peeked a look up at his brother as he tamped down the grounds, “What’s going on today?”

“I have that meeting with Mayor Roman at two about the parks project that they keep fucking with.”

A steaming mug sat down next to him along with a lemon scone. “I thought this might be better than the muffins, I’m branching out a bit.” Gabriel sat across from Cas and fished a lollipop out of a pocket.

“How can you work all day with all this sugar and still eat those things?” Castiel watched as Gabriel seemed to get lost in his candy.

“It’s not the same, Cassie. Besides, what about you?”

“What about me?” Cas cocked his head in confusion at his brother. 

“You said you were done with Mayor Roman and all the city parks crap. What about that?”

Cas sighed, “Turns out dear old dad signed a frigging contract with the bastard guaranteeing at least two more years before he skipped out. If I want to keep the business going, I have to work with the slimy weasel.”

Gabe let out a low whistle, “Nothing like one last shaft on the way out from dad. You could at least change the name from ‘Novak and Sons’. It’s just you now.”

Cas shrugged, “People know it. Besides, it has a certain charm that way. At least I talked him out of your suggestion of ‘Est. 1974’ under it.”

“What?” Gabe tried to look innocent, failing miserably. “You were born in 74, therefore that is when you were established.”

“Not the same thing at all.” Castiel raised his cup to his lips and breathed in the aroma of the coffee. “I did get a new client though.”

“That’s great!”

“I don’t know about that, it’s going to be a project though, I just can’t seem to figure it out though.”

“That’s not like you, baby bro. Usually you have targets and options done in under a day.”

“I know! Plus Jess recommended me to the guy. I’d hate to make her look bad.”

“Cas, I’ve seen the stuff you put out there. Even the stuff they dumb down through committee is amazing, you just have to find your mojo.”

“Whatever that is.”

Gabe laughed and pushed the plate closed to his brother, “Here try these. And I have some of that honey you’re always going on about if you want.”

“Bees are important, Gabe.” Cas broke off a piece of the pastry with his fingers and tasted it. The tang of the lemon and the slight sweet of the sugar glaze mixed perfectly with the soft, crumbly biscuit. It melted in his mouth. “I think you have another winner here, Gabe.”

Gabe called out from the back, “Of course I do, I’m the best.” He re-entered with a platter of cookies to place into the display case, “Are you coming to Michael’s show at Harvelle’s tomorrow?”

Cas rubbed his hand over his face again. “I don’t know. I haven’t really felt much like going out since Luke. Besides, I have all this work…”

“Cassie, you always have work. Besides you know how they say is the best way to get over an old love?”

“I know I’m going to regret this, but how?” Cas cocked his head to look at his brother, not missing the mischievous smile.

“Get under a new one.” Gabe ignored the groan from Cas as he swirled the lollipop in his mouth and gave his brother a wink. 

“You’re incorrigible, Gabriel.” Cas shook his head and grabbed his things to go. 

“I”ll pick you up at 7.”

“Fine.” Castiel sighed as he left. It was easier to just agree to Gabriel, he knew that his brother would probably show up at his house anyways if he did not. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean sat across from Sam at Harvelle’s nursing a beer. “You didn’t tell me there was a band tonight.”

“That’s because I knew you wouldn’t come if you knew.” Sam took a drink from his own glass, “God forbid you listen to something that came out this decade.”

“Can I help it if music started sucking after 1985?”

Sammy shook his head at his brother, before making room for Jess to sit. “You made it.”

“Hey, Dean,” Jess gave a head nod acknowledging her brother in law before turning her attention to Sam, “It was a rough shift at the hospital, I almost cancelled on you. Then I remembered that you were offering  
me beer and the munchkin was at a sleepover tonight. What more could a girl want?”

“Are you propositioning me, Mrs. Winchester?” 

Jess slid a hand up Sam’s thigh, “Maybe, Mr. Winchester. I’ll take that beer first though.” She kissed his nose before darting back out of the booth and to the bar. 

Dean grinned suggestively at Sam, “House to yourselves tonight, huh?”

“You have no idea, Dean. Between Jess and my work and Gracie, we hardly get a minute to ourselves.”

“Yeah, yeah, the ‘great married lie. No time to actually have sex.” Dean rolled his eyes as he took another drink. 

“Just you wait, Dean.” Sam watched as Jess returned with her own drink, followed closely by Ellen. 

“You boys eating tonight?” Ellen lounged against the wall of the booth. 

“Hey, Ellen.” Dean smiled up at the older woman. She whacked him on the head with her notepad. 

“Don’t you ‘Hey, Ellen’ me! You haven’t been by to say hello in a month. After all this time you just saunter in here and think you can smile and wink at me and all is good. Boy, if your mother were alive.”

Sam and Dean both glanced away for a minute before Dean met her eyes again. “Sorry.” 

“Don’t be sorry, boy, give me a hug and don’t be a stranger anymore.” Dean stood to wrap his arms around the woman. “I wouldn’t have uprooted Jo and me if you two weren’t like my own.” She finally released  
Dean from and allowed him to sit again. “The usual heart attack, Dean?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” 

“Sammy? Jess, you guys know what you want?” She took their orders and maneuvered through the crowds back towards the kitchen. 

“How comes she doesn’t smack you, Sammy?”

Sam laughed and took a swig of beer, “That’s because I’m grown up and responsible with a family. Besides, she knows I live like a half an hour from here so I can’t just stop by for lunch. You, on the other hand…”

Ellen returned with a salad for Sam and Jess. Dean looked up at her, “What’s with having a band?”

She cocked an eyebrow at Dean, “Trying something new. Local bands on Fridays, they have to be decent though. I figure it gives them a place to be heard, and it brings in the crowds.”

“I’ll say, this place is packed.”

“This guy has been in once before, the ladies seem to really like him. I don’t know if I should tell him to put a shirt on though.”

Jess piped up, “I don’t know, not a bad view.” Sam pinched her side “Hey, I can look!”

“He’ll be done in a few, then a break. The second band starts at 730.”

“Second band? You’re really serious about this?”

Ellen shrugged, “It was Jo. I think she wanted to meet the guys in the band at first, but that didn’t work out. Didn’t mean it wasn’t a good idea.”

“Where is Jo?” Dean asked

Ellen rolled her eyes, “Getting ready. Jess, you think this man is good looking, wait until you see Michael. The man looks like an angel. But if my instincts are right about him, he is trouble.”

Jess laughed, “Every girl needs a little trouble once or twice in her life.”

Ellen’s gaze was withering, “Jo has no trouble finding trouble all on her own, and that kind is one she don’t need. I can smell it on him like an old lady’s perfume.”

Sam threw his head back in a snort as the rest of the table descended into laughter. “That sounds like her. Don’t let her get too heartbroken.” 

“Yeah, well, you remember being her age. Everything was tragedy and drama. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to watch her like a hawk.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cas sat on his bed as Gabe picked through his closet. “Really, Cassie, do you have to look like a tax accountant or a homeless person all the time?”

“Gabe, I’m in meetings or I’m digging in the dirt, how am I supposed to look?” Cas flopped back onto the bed in exasperation. 

“Like you have a life outside of work.” Gabe tossed a black tee at Castiel’s head. “Hello there!” Gabe pulled a leather jacket from the back of the closet. “You’ve been holding out, you sly minx.”

“It was a gift, from Luke.” Castiel pursed his lips together as he sat up pulling the tee over his head. 

“Fantastic. Rub your single ass in his fat face.” Gabriel held out the dark jacket, “This and those jeans. No excuses, Cas.”

Cas stood and grabbed the jacket from his brother as they left his bedroom. He could tell this would be a long night. 

 

Gabe and Cas pulled into the parking lot next that was overflowing with cars already. Cas tugged at the collar of the leather jacket, then running his hands through his hair to quell his anxiety. He knew that it was futile, plus he disliked large crowds and noisy places  
They stepped through the doors into the people filled room, before making their way to the bar. “How long until Michael goes on?”

“10 more minutes. C’mon, let’s grab a beer.” Gabe pulling Castiel’s sleeve as he approached the bar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jess looked at Dean, “Did you call my friend about your yard, yet?”

“Yeah, he came by a few days ago. Said he’d get back to me with an estimate.” Dean took a bite of his burger and missed the smile she tried to hide as she ate her own food. 

“Such a nice guy, too bad about that breakup with Luke.” Jess ignored the small kick under the table from her husband. 

“Jessica…” Dean sat his burger on his plate, looking at her dangerously. 

“Fine, what done is done.” Jess tucked back into her food ignoring the pointed looks from both Sam and Dean. 

Dean threw a napkin onto the table, “I’m getting another beer.”

“Get me one too, Dean,” Sam nodded to Dean as he stood

“Whatever, bitch.” Dean pushed past the people as he made his way up to the bar. He found himself behind a brunette man with a leather jacket and slightly wild spiked hair. He was too busy admiring the ass to notice when the shorter man next to him turned around, catching him looking. 

“Dean-o!” Gabe shouted.

Dean froze as he looked at Gabriel. He was comfortable with his sexuality and he knew that it was less of a challenge here in California than it had been working in the South. Of course, the problem with coming out is that you never stop doing it. It doesn’t stop with your family and friends. It’s your co-workers, and the people at the grocery store and restaurant when you’re with someone, it’s the teller at the bank when you open an account together. He set his shoulders to face another test. “Gabe. How you doing?” He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to hide his nerves. 

“Dean?” A voice to the side of him pulled his attention. 

“Cas, hi.” Dean now saw who the man he had been admiring was. 

Gabe was now looking between the two, “Wait, you know each other?”

“Gabe, Mr. Winchester”—Cas started but was interrupted

“Dean.”

Cas smiled before continuing, “Sorry, Dean, is my new client. You know my brother?” He looked at Dean in confusion. 

“You’re brother?”

Gabriel tried to regain a bit of attention to him, “Half-brother. Sadly, I got all the looks, leaving him and Michael as mere trolls.”

“I, um,” Dean fumbled as he tried not to watch Castiel’s lips. “Michael?”

A shy smile broke out on Castiel’s face, “Our other brother, that’s why we’re here. Familial support and all.”

Dean looked toward the front of the bar where a small band was setting up. Another black haired man was adjusting the microphone, he could see the resemblance. If he had not seen Cas first, he might have even been interested. He turned back and was caught again off guard by the color of Cas’s eyes. He managed to snap himself out of it. “Hey Jess is here. You should say hi.”

“I will, Dean.” Gabe whispered something to Cas, causing him to frown. “We have to say hello to Michael, mind if I find you a little later?”

Dean played it off, he barely knew the man after all, “Sure, come say hello when you’re done with your brother. We have a booth in the back.”  
He watched Gabe lead Cas away towards the man at the stage, unsure how to proceed. He ended up just grinning as he grabbed his beers from the bar, making his way back to Sam and Jess. 

Sammy reached for his bottle with a scowl, “I was about to send out a search party. What took so long?”

Dean ducked his head as he slid into the booth, hoping it hid the blush, “Um, ran into Castiel and his brother. Stopped to say hello.”

Jess hmmed into her beer. “How is he?”

Dean tried to keep his attention at the table, but now he could see Cas from his position, “Cas is fine—He’s good I mean.” He sputtered. 

“He should come over and say hi.” Jess tried to keep her voice innocent, but Dean wasn’t buying it. 

“His brother is the singer, he has family stuff tonight.” Dean ate a now cold fry to keep from staring back at Cas or looking at Jess and Sam.

“I see.” Jess ignored the bitch face Sam was directing at her. 

“There is no ‘I see’, Jess.” Dean tried to keep his face neutral, but the music had started and he saw Cas moving to the music. He could feel his mouth go dry, he tried to take a sip of his beer, but he found it hard to look away. He could swear at one point, Cas caught his eye and knew he was watching him. He danced slightly more suggestively. This time, Dean knew that Cas had glanced his way and caught his eye, because he winked at him. Dean coughed, choking on his beer. 

Dean forced himself to look away or he would not be able to leave the booth for a while. He grabbed at the glass of water at the table that somebody had ordered, he didn’t care who, and took a long draught. “You okay?” Sammy asked, trying not to smirk. 

“Mmm, fine. Something went down the wrong pipe.” Dean smiled insincerely at his brother. 

“Great, cuz Jess and I are going to take off.” Sam slid out of the booth and stood, Jess following. 

“I thought this was supposed to be our night?” Dean grabbed a napkin to wipe his hands, scowling at his brother. He would have no legitimate reason to hang around if they left. 

“Jess and I have the place to ourselves tonight. I’m sorry Dean, but me getting to have sex with my wife takes priority.” 

“Whatever, Sammy.” Dean stood to hug his brother before turning to Jessica. “You are a demon, though.” He gave her a hug too. He stood there for a minute after they left, musing on his brother and sister in law’s relationship. He turned around to return to his seat and finish his beer, unexpectedly finding Castiel directly in front of him, well into his personal space. 

“Hello, Dean.” 

Dean’s breath hitched, “Hey Cas.” He unconsciously shifted backwards. This man had a way of making him off balance. “You just missed Jess.”

Cas barely glanced at the door, “That’s too bad. I hope that you weren’t thinking of leaving now that your brother is gone?”

“Well, I’m almost done with my drink. I’d have to have another reason to stick around after that.” Dean licked his suddenly dry lips, noticing how the other man’s eyes tracked the movement. He could feel heat pooling in the pit of his stomach, he didn’t know how much longer he could just stand here in front of him. 

“You could sit down and we could have a drink of our own.” Cas tilted nearly imperceptibly forward. His head to the side as if he was examining Dean. 

Dean tore his gaze away from Cas’s mouth, his face flushed. “Yeah, um, I’d like that.”

2 hours and a forgotten beer later, Dean was still having trouble not watching Cas’s mouth as he talked, but now he decided that he didn’t care. The other man’s lips look too damn irresistible, and Dean knew that the feeling is mutual after his own tongue flicks out to wet his dry lips and Cas stumbled on his words momentarily. It was then that Gabriel chose to return. “Cassie, Dean! There you two are!”

Dean sat back in the booth, spell broken, sullenly turning to the sandy haired man. “Gabe. Yep, you found us.”

“Dean, I hope my brother hasn’t been boring you all night.” Gabriel gave Cas a small shove as the taller man turned inward and quiet, looking away from Dean.

“No,” Dean tried to catch Cas’s eye again. “I’m not a big fan of this kind of scene, so I’m the one who was probably boring.” 

“You were never boring Dean.” Dean barely heard Cas over the jukebox that had taken over for the band. Another man slid into the booth next to Gabriel, ridiculously good looking but smug expression on his face. 

“Who the hell are you?” Dean threw at the new man. He sensed a tension that wasn’t there before emanating from Castiel. 

“Michael, these two knuckleheads’ brother.” Dean felt himself being looked over by Michael, appraised like a piece of meat. He didn’t notice Jo at the table, looking as if she was there to take an order. 

“Hey, Dean. Guys, can I get you anything?” Dean noticed Jo’s eyes linger on Michael for an extra minute before moving back to him. 

“Hi Jo. I think I’m going to be heading out soon, you guys want anything?” Dean had felt the mood change from a few minutes ago and wanted nothing more than to get away. He nearly jumped when a foot skimmed his ankle. He shifted his feet out of the way, Michael hid his smile in a drink from Dean’s leftover beer. 

Cas stood, “I think I’d like to as well, Gabe. I have a lot of work to finish this weekend.”

Gabriel pouted, “I wanted to catch up with Mike. Get a ride with Dean, you two seemed pretty chummy earlier, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

Cas huffed but turned and looked at Dean, silently pleading. “It’s cool, besides, you haven’t really seen baby yet.”

Cas raised an eyebrow at Dean’s response as he followed him out, Dean tried not to lean in as he held the door for Cas to leave the bar. He led him down the line of cars to the shiny black beast at the end, unlocking the passenger door before stepping around to let himself in. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

The tension ebbed as they drove the few blocks to Castiel’s house, but it did not return to the easy flow they had before at the restaurant. Finally, Cas directed Dean towards his driveway. Dean pulled in, turning off the ignition to the Impala only for them to sit in silence, unwilling or unable to end the evening. “Dean, I,”—Cas started to say as he looked at the other man. 

Dean lifted his hand to stop him from saying anything. “Don’t worry about it, Cas.”

Cas shook his head, “About Michael,”

“Forget about Michael, I know he’s your brother, but he seems like kind of a douche.”

“He slept with Luke.”

“Luke?”

Cas gave a wan smile to Dean, “I’m surprised at Jess, usually she’s much less subtle. Luke is my ex.”

“She might have mentioned something,” Dean coughed and returned the smile. “But your brother?”

“Michael and Luke had an odd friendship. They flirted harmlessly, I thought, for a months while we went out. I forgot how manipulative Michael could be, how he always seems to get what he wants sooner or later. Luke and I hit a bad patch, I hoped we could get through it, but then I caught them together. I haven’t seen Luke since.”

“Then why were you there tonight? Why would you come support him?”

Cas shrugged and stared out the window before returning his gaze to Dean, “Gabriel doesn’t know. All he wants is his family to stop fighting, he made me promise to come. I was planning on making an appearance to appease him, then taking a taxi home. You distracted me, Dean.” Castiel leaned slightly forward and into Dean’s space.

“Sorry about that. I’ll have to admit, you were quite the distraction as well, Cas.” Dean closed the distance between the two and pressed his lips to Cas’s. Cas let out a small moan as he pulled away, his hands on Dean’s shoulders holding him back. 

“Dean, please, stop.” Cas could barely look at Dean as he moved a hand to touch his face.

“What is it, Cas.” Dean struggled to keep the feeling of rejection from playing across his face. Cas dared to look him in the eyes once more. Dean was beautiful here in the car under the moonlight, his eyes darkened by the shadows and his freckles barely visible. 

Cas leaned his forehead against Dean’s, “I just can’t yet. I thought maybe I could earlier when I saw you for the first time tonight, but not right now. Please don’t hate me.”

“Hate you? Of course I don’t hate you. If I hated you, then I’d have to fire you. And I need you to do something about that yard.”

Cas shoved Dean’s shoulder and he breathed a sigh of relief. He reached for the handle of the car, but as he stood to leave he ducked his head in once more, “That’s another problem too.” He grinned.

Dean scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.

“I don’t sleep with my clients. Night Dean.” Cas stood and walked to his front door, confident that Dean was watching his every move. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cas lay in bed the next morning, considering the previous evening. He knew he was playing a dangerous game of attraction with Dean, both because he was a client and because of what had happened to end his last relationship. His phone rang, he looked at the screen, Gabriel. “It’s too early to deal with you, Gabe.”

Cas could feel the smirk through the phone, “Did I interrupt you two?”

Cas rolled his eyes before answering him, “It’s just me.”

“Well then, no wonder you’re grumpy. I was sure that with the eye sex you guys were having last night that you would have sealed the deal. Unless he skipped out last night. Do I need to beat him up, baby bro?”

“Gabriel, it’s 7am on a Saturday. Please tell me that you’ve called me for a different reason than to quiz me on my sex life.”

“Okay, first of all, check your clock. It’s after 9. Secondly, it’s part of my job as an older brother to make sure that you’re not drowning your sorrows in cheap waffles and bad coffee.”

Cas snorted, “Tell that to Michael.” 

“What was that about?”

“Never mind. I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. My virtue and my waistline are still intact this morning.”

Gabe laughed, “There’s your problem. You need to let the virtue slide a bit. Come down to the café and have breakfast.”

“Gabe…”

“Michael wants to talk to you.”

Castiel gripped the phone a bit tighter in his hand, “I don’t think that would be a good idea, Gabe. I have a lot of work to get done.” He rushed through the sentence, knowing Gabriel would see it for the excuse it was. 

“Cassie, you can’t keep avoiding him.”

“Gabe, this isn’t,”—he took a deep breath, “I just have to work, alright?”

Gabriel was silent for a few seconds. “Fine, we’ll talk later.”

“Bye, Gabe.”

“See ya, Cassie.”

Cas dropped his phone back on the side table and blearily inspected the clock again, it indeed said 918. He rubbed his hand over his chin, noticing the stubble. His only thought now was to get coffee in his system, coffee would make everything clearer. 

A cup of coffee, some breakfast and a change into running clothes later he was ready for inspiration. It would allow his mind to work out problems subconsciously. The small hills of the lower California bay and the clear air that came from living near the ocean always had that effect on him. Plus it had the added advantage of visual inspiration for his work, he never knew where or when he would see something that he could translate into someone’s yard or a park. He loved living so close to the Santa Clara Mountains, he could already feel the burn in his thighs as he headed to a trail. Scrub oaks crowded the path, as a landscape architect he knew their technical name, but as a lifelong California resident they were just called that. That was always one of the ways he knew he was home again, scrub oaks against golden hills. That and fog at Christmas. Other people could have a white Christmas, give him a grey one anytime and he was happy. At least until a few months ago. 

His steps pounded a bit harder as the incline changed. He had seen Michael and Luke together earlier in that day. Luke and him had been fighting again, Cas didn’t want to continue working public commissions. It was too much hassle and bureaucracy, plus the Mayor himself was a sleaze. Luke wanted Cas to have the recognition that it would bring him. They had spoken barely 10 sentences together, instead Luke had cozied to Michael. Cas had not wanted to see what was going on, he knew that now, so instead he had retreated to the balcony, nursing a drink. Later, he had returned to tell Luke he was going home but he was gone. Further searching had found the two men together. Cas still didn’t know how he made it downstairs without vomiting. The following days had been a blur. Nothing was ever spoken about what he had seen, but then again, nothing much was said about anything. Luke was moved out quickly and it was as if he had never been a part of Castiel’s life. 

He approached the top of the hill, winded and sweat pouring of his brow. It had been a long time since he had relived that night. Hadn’t really spoken to Michael after that, never had told Gabriel, just shut it away. He examined it now as he stood there panting, bent over with his hands on his knees. Was it guilt he felt? That wasn’t rational he thought, he had been the one cheated on, how was he guilty? But he felt it all the same. He felt as though if he had been someone better, stronger, more ambitious, Luke would not have cheated. His intellectual brain tried to shut down the thoughts, but they crept around in the shadows. He cried out, “Argh!” and continued running down the hill. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean entered Trixter’s café hesitantly Monday morning. Benny behind him, engrossed by checking his phone’s email. He gasped at first when he saw a dark shock of hair on the man behind the counter, but when he turned, Dean was disappointed to see it was Michael and not Cas. He chided himself silently on the thought, why would it be Cas? Cas has a job, he doesn’t need to sling coffees at his brother’s coffee shop. Dean was hesitant to approach the counter, after all this was the dick bag that had hurt Cas, one of them at least. Dean was unsure about his own reaction to the man.  
“Good morning!” Michael called out, grinning at him, nearly ignoring Benny. 

“Morning,” grunted Dean. “Where’s Gabe?”

Michael shrugged, “Had some things he needed to do, asked me to cover for a few hours. So, what can I do for you?” his arms spread wide as he leaned forward over the counter. “You’re Castiel’s friend aren’t you?”

Benny had caught notice of the exchange and decided to interrupt, “Could I get a large coffee to go. A double for my friend here?”

Dean steamed in his leather jacket, Benny could feel the tension and anger radiating off of him. Michael ducked behind the large coffee machine, “One large and one double shot for the strong, silent one over there. Whatever you want.”

Dean clenched his jaw and turned to stare out the window. Running into Gabriel would have been bad enough. He knew some teasing would have been in order and then it would have backed off, but this was unbearable. Michael was insufferable, He saw Benny grab the drinks and he exited the café without another word.

“What is the matter with you, brother? You have a thing for Mr. Trixter?”

Dean was taking a sip and almost spit it out on the sidewalk at the thought of him and Gabe. “What, no man!”

“Well, then what was that? That guy was practically throwing himself at you. Now, I’m not like you, I don’t generally play both sides, but even I wouldn’t kick him out of bed for eating crackers.”

“I don’t like him.” Dean scowled as he took another sip.

“Obviously.” 

Dean sucked in a deep breath, “There is a someone though.”

“I figured that much out myself, thanks.”

“Gabe and him” Dean pointed back to the coffee shop, “are his brothers.”

Benny whistled, “Does he return the sentiment?”

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure. We kissed the other day. God, can I sound more like a 14 year old girl?”

Benny’s laugh was deep and hearty, “Brother, we all sound like that sometimes.” 

“Anyways, it doesn’t matter. Cas put a stop on everything. For now at least.”

“What the hell for?”

“He’s working for me.” Dean rumbled it out so fast Benny almost missed it. 

“What was that?”

“He’s the guy I hired to do the back yard. He’s a friend of Jessica’s. She neglected to mention that he was hot as hell.”

“So no hanky-panky until the work is done?” Benny gave Dean a sideways glance.

“That’s the plan.” Dean drained the remainder of the cup as they entered the old hanger. 

“Good luck with that.” Benny was chuckling continuously as he made his way inside. 

Dean was not surprised when he opened his email that evening to find the one from Cas. What he was surprised by was how beautiful the drawings looked. He had assumed that he would get layouts and computer generated images of what the space could look like when he was done with each of the options. He got all that, but in addition was a rough pen and ink sketch that showed his back yard lived in. Somehow, the drawings convinced him more that this had been the right person to do the work, personal feelings aside. He took out his phone to text the man. 

DW: I got your email. Impressive.

CN: Any thoughts?

Dean smirked as his fingers hovered over the phone. He had a lot of thoughts, actually. 

DW: Want to meet and discuss?

Dean watched the dots appear and disappear again as he waited for a response. 

CW: I could come by the house tomorrow?

Dean’s smirk turned to a genuine smile. He knew that having Cas work on the yard would require him to be at him to be here at Dean’s house for weeks, but his breath caught at the thought of Cas hot and sweaty in the backyard. 

DW: Sounds good. 730?

CN: See you tomorrow.

Dean sat his phone down next to him. He picked up his beer that on the dining room table and went out to the deck with the drawings he had printed out. He held up each one in turn trying to imagine what it would end up looking like. The last of the three pictures had a figure in the background, Dean could almost think that the person looked like Cas. He brought the beer to his lips again.  
It had been a long time since he had considered anything more than a one night stand. The short relationship he had with Aaron in Huntsville had taught him to go for what he wanted. Dean had only recently admitted being bi-sexual when they had started dating, and Dean had what Aaron referred to as his ‘big gay freak out’ and Aaron had left. After that though came the death of his father, Dean had become too busy to date anyone seriously. He could admit to himself now that he wanted something else, more than just a warm body. He had even called Aaron after he had moved here, but Dean knew that there was nothing left there and closed that chapter. Now he stood on his deck, of a house that he owned and he felt like things might finally be coming closer to setting into place. He couldn’t be more terrified. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Castiel kept checking the time on his phone. He had arrived into the neighborhood 20 minutes early because he couldn’t stand his own nerves at his house anymore. He was glad he had not chosen to drive the work truck, he was sure Dean would have seen him drive by way too early before circling around the neighborhood until he found a parking lot to sit in. He tried to use that time to calm his nerves, but he knew it wasn’t working. All of this would have been so much easier if Michael hadn’t been around. Cas knew he shouldn’t lay all the blame on his brother, but he was the one there to take it. It didn’t help that Michael always seemed to get who and what he wanted eventually, no matter who it hurt, and he had looked at Dean like he wanted to wear him like a cheap suit when they were at Harvelle’s. Cas’s stomach started to churn. He checked his phone again for the time, 723. He knew that it was safe to leave the Gas ‘N Sip parking lot he had waited in and made his way to Dean’s door.  
As Cas pulled up to the house, he could see that the large, black Impala was standing proud in the driveway. It created the same feeling in him as the first time he had seen it pulling into the driveway. Gabriel had told him it was a ‘panty dropping car’ when he told him about it. He tried not to envision Dean leaning over the car, greasy and dirty from working on the engine as he grabbed his briefcase and plans. It would not do to go into a client meeting with a hard-on. Even if the client was Dean Winchester and they both knew how the other felt. 

Dean answered the doorbell quickly, startling Cas, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Dean apologized when he saw the look on Cas’s face. 

Cas softened after a second, “Hello, Dean. No, just a little high strung today. Gabe has been insufferable and it was making me irritable.”

A frown started to tug at Dean’s mouth, “Did you want to cancel?”

“No, Gabriel will be irritating no matter what, he’s my older brother after all.”

“That’s the older brother’s prerogative.” Dean was grinning now. “Come in, I just have to get my phone out of the car.” Dean moved past Cas and he could smell the combination of leather and spices he couldn’t quite put a finger on. He restrained himself from inhaling the scent deeply, he did however, turn to watch Dean lean into the Impala, over the front seat to reach for his forgotten phone. 

“Have you decided on which plan you liked best, Dean?” Cas tried to keep his feelings under control by bringing the conversation around to business. 

Dean slipped the phone into his pocket without looking at it, smiling as he stretched his arm out to guide Cas into the house. “They were all amazing, Cas. I pretty sure I have my mind made up, but why don’t you walk me through them.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean swore as he tore apart his house looking for his stupid phone. Cas was supposed to be here any minute, but what if there was a last minute problem and he was trying to get ahold of him. Dean couldn’t remember the last time he had been this nervous before a date. Except it wasn’t a date, it was a business meeting, between two people who were clearly attracted to each other. Two people who had shared a kiss, until Cas had pulled back. Selfishly, Dean had actually considered firing him right there, but he didn’t want Cas to think he was some douche who just wanted to get into his pants. Get it together, Winchester, he’s going to be here soon. Where did you last have it? He stilled himself to think of the last time his remembered having it. He had fired off a text to Sammy when he first got into the car before tossing the phone onto the passenger seat. The next thing he remembered was dashing into the house for a quick shower to get the sweat and grease off of him, although there always seemed to be some stuck under his fingernails. He practically ran to the door, jerking it open before he registered that the doorbell had rung, scaring the piss out of Cas who was standing on the door step. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Dean quickly apologized, running his hand back through his hair and neck. 

His stomach flipped as Cas’s face melted, “Hello, Dean. No, just a little high strung today. Gabe has been insufferable and it was making me irritable.”

The butterflies turned sour as the thought about it, the beginnings of a frown began to take shape. “Did you want to cancel?”

“No, Gabriel will be irritating no matter what, he’s my older brother after all.”

He couldn’t help the grin from breaking out. “That’s the older brother’s prerogative. Come in, I just have to get my phone out of the car.” Dean pressed past Cas, relieved that he had a moment to collect himself. 

Even though he knew Cas was coming, seeing him there like that had churned up his own insides, if he took an extra few seconds ‘finding his phone’ so be it. As he straitened, he barely caught Cas looking away from where Dean’s ass had been, so maybe the extra moment had been worth it. 

Cas was looking slightly towards the ground, shifting the weight on his feet, ““Have you decided on which plan you liked best, Dean?”

Dean reached out to steer Cas inside the home, “They were all amazing, Cas. I pretty sure I have my mind made up, but why don’t you walk me through them.” 

He led Cas to the table in the kitchen where they could spread out Cas’s work. “Do you want some coffee or something, a beer?”

Cas shook his head, “No coffee for me thanks, you wouldn’t happen to have tea, would you?”

Dean chuckled, “I have to keep a stash for Jess, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you had some.” He opened a cabinet overhead, “I have Earl Grey or Roobios. Do you have a preference? I’m afraid that I’ve been told I’m a heathen and only have bags, not loose leaf.”

“Earl Grey is fine. As long as you have a kettle and don’t microwave the water,” Cas flashed a smile at Dean before returning to arranging the papers over the table. 

“Um,” Dean struggled to not look terrified as he looked at Cas. 

“It was a joke, Dean. Whatever is fine, really.”

The color came back to Dean’s face as he breathed again. He smiled and shook his head as he pulled a steaming mug of water out of the microwave and placed a teabag into it. He grabbed a spoon and a small pot of honey off the counter before returning to the table. 

“Thank you, Dean.” Cas took the mug from his hands, then stirred a spoonful of the honey into it. “This is good honey.”

“It’s a local guy, Cain. He’s a beekeeper, sells some of the honey he collects at the farmer’s market Sammy likes to go to.”

“Bees are important, Dean.”

Dean nodded, “Yeah, I know. Some of the guys at NASA are working on the bee problem.”

Cas crocked his head in confusion, “Why would NASA be looking at that?”

“Well, if the bees disappear, so will a huge percentage of our crops. Agriculture would be decimated around the world and we would in essence needing to find alternative places to inhabit faster than NASA and other programs would be able to handle. It’s in NASA’s best interest to solve the problem.” Dean quit talking suddenly, “Sorry, I know this is probably boring the shit out of you.”

“No, I love hearing about what interests other people. You lit up when you were talking about the work that you’re involved in.”

“Usually Sammy eye’s have glazed over by now.”

Cas shrugged, “Family is like that. I’m sure you’ve done the same when Sam talks about a case.” 

Dean sputtered, “Yeah well, that’s because it’s boring lawyer stuff.” He couldn’t help smiling though. “Okay, let’s look at this stuff.”

Cas shuffled the first set of renderings on top of the pile. “So, first option. Lots of grading and earthmoving involved, but you’d have a good amount of lawn space when we were done. Great for kids like Gracie to play on. It’s the most expensive and would take the longest to do.”

“I noticed that. I think that one’s out, anyways. Gracie can play inside and in the front once I have a fence put in, plus there’s a park down the street that we take her to all the time. It’s not like I have kids of my own, at any rate.”

“You never know what might happen in the future, Dean.” Cas ducked his head, not wanting to look Dean in the face.

“Well, this house was always a starter house for me. If and when I settled down with a family, I hope that I have this place fixed up well enough to have some serious equity.”

“I think this house is lovely, Dean.” He tried to mask his emotions by moving the papers around so that the next round was on top. “Second choice, no grading or big machinery. As natural as possible, just taming it down. It would require the least amount of upkeep and of course is the least expensive of all your options.”

Dean frowned, “Yeah, but it would be an awful lot of money to spend to keep so much of it the way it is. I would have a hard time justifying it in my head.”

“It would look a lot better, though. And the plant life would actually end up being a lot healthier since I would thin back a good portion of it. I would also make sure that it all had proper drainage and there were no areas where water either pooled unnecessarily or did not get the amount of water it needed. Sometimes a lot of work goes into making something look ‘natural’, Dean.” Cas pursed his lips, annoyed.

“I’m sorry, Cas. I’m sure you have to defend your charges all the time.” Dean raised his hands in surrender to the other man. 

Cas sat back into the dining room chair. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped all over you.”

“Why don’t we just move on to the last option you gave me?”

“Pretend this never happened,” Cas grinned at Dean. 

“Something like that.”

“All right then. So, number three. A midpoint sort of, we’d grade the west side so that it is level and you’d have some lawn. I chose that side, since obviously it has the least amount of heavy work to do. The east side, since it is decidedly more rocky and the tree there is at least a few decades old it would be both more cost effective and responsible to leave much of it the same. Just the same drainage and thinning we talked about on the last option. It would be a good blend of the natural state and give you some usable space back there.”

“The cost isn’t nearly what I expected it to be, either. Compared to the first one, that is.”

“There’s some serious rocks and grading done in option one. It’s a lot more work.” Dean could see the fire start to raise in Cas’s voice once more. 

“I can see that, Cas. I was not begrudging that. It was just a little more money than I had set aside. It wasn’t the one I liked the best anyways.”

Cas settled back again into the chair, “Alright, Dean, what’s your decision then?”

“I was always going to go with number three, Cas.” He grinned. 

“Then why invite me here to review them with you?”

“I wanted to hear what you thought about them. Now I know I’ve made the right choice, because the professional thinks it is too.”

Confusion played across Cas’s face, “How do you know I prefer the last one?”

Dean broke out in a wide grin, “My dad had us hustling cards since we were old enough to be let into the room. You told me.”

“You think you can read me that easily, Dean?” 

Dean studied Cas’s face intently for a moment. “I’d like to find out.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was Friday again before Cas and his team had a day in his schedule to come out and begin work. Dean left the garage and door to the back yard unlocked for him, but had suggested that Cas take his spare key, something not usually on Cas’s list. “Dean, you don’t even really know me.” Cas objected that evening when Dean shoved the key in his hand. 

“You’re a good friend of my sister-in-law, I’m paying you a butt-load of money to fix that monstrosity out there, I know how to track you down through your brother, what else do I need to know? Besides, what are you going to do? Track mud in my house and watch Judge Judy?”

“Don’t mess with Judge Judy, she’s scary.” Cas laughed as he pocketed the key. “I should have the rest of the permits pulled by Monday and then we can start with the heavy duty work.”

Dean stared at the other man for a moment. The dirty tee shirt and jeans stuck to his form with sweat, a scruff starting to build on his chin and throat, God he wanted to feel that stubble. Finally, Dean realized that Cas had stopped talking, “Yeah, sounds good.” He fumbled.

Cas smirked for a moment, flipping his ball cap back around so that it faced forward. He saw Dean’s eyes flick up to the red rooster logo on the front, “Dean, are you staring at my cock?” 

Dean started to talk, closed his mouth, then opened it again, before breaking into a sly smile. “You caught me.”

Cas’s eyes looked all the way up as if her were trying to see the top of his head, “A friend of mine left this at my house a while back, so now it’s mine.”

“Well, sure. Who wouldn’t like a hat with a big, red cock on it?” Dean licked his lips. 

“I say you can’t really trust people that don’t like your cock.” Cas looked at Dean earnestly. 

“I wouldn’t mind seeing more of your cock, Cas.” Dean matched the look on Cas’s face, direct and serious. 

But Castiel faltered and stammered, grabbing a flannel he had worn in the morning before the sun rose to high and it got too warm to wear it. “Well, I’ll be sure to wear it Monday then.” He opened and closed his hands nervously around the shirt before stepping around Dean nervously. Cas felt like he barely made it to the truck without his legs collapsing under him. The engine of the pickup roared to life and he tore off down the street without looking back. 

Dean had tried to catch his arm as he practically ran past him, but Cas was wily and managed to slip through his fingers. He knew he didn’t dare chase after him like this, in this state, Cas was like an animal, wounded and unsure. He was going to have to build that trust from the bottom.


End file.
